


Dedication

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Fraxus [10]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Love, M/M, Protectiveness, Sick Character, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-08-20 21:04:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16563101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Laxus hates being ill, but more than that he hates being fussed over even if he really needs help, but unfortunately...or fortunately, Freed is more than a match for his stubborn mate, and the only person that can comfort Laxus when the fever rises.





	Dedication

   Freed started awake as he felt Laxus stumbling out of bed, and he grumbled sleepily as he glanced up at the lacrima clock and saw that it was still the early hours of the morning. _What the hell is he doing up?_ Part of him was tempted to just roll over and go back to sleep, especially as he had gone to bed a couple of hours after the Dragon-slayer as he had got caught up with the book that he was reading.  However, as he heard Laxus moving towards the bedroom door on unusually unsteady feet, he rolled over and sat up slightly, rubbing blearily at his eyes as he tried to focus on the blurry image of his partner.

“Laxus?”

“It’s nothing…go back to sleep.” There was something off about his partner’s voice, but the Dragon-slayer was out of the door before he could press him and he sighed. Perhaps it had just been a bad dream, something that they were both painfully familiar about, and something that Laxus was still reluctant to admit to even though they had been together for a couple of years now and despite his willingness to comfort Freed when the younger man was troubled by nightmares. However, when he rolled over and tried to get back to sleep again, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more to that odd tone and he found himself unable to drop off again.

   Sighing he looked up at the clock again, eyes widening as he realised that nearly half an hour had passed, realising that he must’ve dozed off at some point. _Where is he?_ There was no way it could have taken Laxus half an hour to go to the bathroom, and while the Lightning mage would sometimes relocate to the sofa after a nightmare, he was unlikely to have done that today as he had woken Freed. _So where is he…?_ He knew that Laxus wouldn’t want him worrying over him, but he couldn’t help it, and after debating with himself for another couple of minutes he admitted defeat, shoving the covers aside and sliding out of bed only to shiver as he realised how chilly the room was. Glancing around he snatched the first thing that came to hand, one of Laxus’s shirts which hung loosely around him as he made a beeline for the door.

    It didn’t take him long to realise that Laxus was still in the bathroom, spying the light that was spilling out from under the door and as he moved closer, he heard the sound of someone throwing up, and he quickly sped up. He knocked on the door, knowing that Laxus would not appreciate it if he just burst on him, even though he had been around the Dragon-slayer enough times when he was suffering from motion sickness to be mostly unfazed by the sight of his mate being sick.

“Go away,” Laxus called a moment later, his voice weaker than usual and Freed sighed in exasperation. If he were the one in there throwing up, Laxus would probably have already broken down the door no matter how many protests the Rune mage gave…but when it was the other way round…

“Not happening,” he replied sternly, hesitating for a moment before trying the handle and cursing when he realised that it was locked. Fully aware that the stubborn idiot on the inside wasn’t going to open the door for him, he drew a series of runes against the wood with his finger, smirking in satisfaction as he heard the lock click a moment later. _Nice try,_ he thought as he cautiously opened the door and slipped inside, well aware that his presence wasn’t going to go down well and waiting for the tirade of protests that he would no doubt face when Laxus realised he had bypassed the door.

     However, there was no sting of protests, just a loud groan that he knew had probably been a protest, and he stepped forward, eyes softening as he took in the Dragon-slayer’s hunched form. Laxus had somehow managed to cram himself into the space between the toilet and the wall, and that was probably the only reason why he was still reasonably upright. His face was pale, which did nothing to hide the greenish hint that seemed to have seeped into his cheek, and the flush of fever in his cheeks which matched the sweat beading on his forehead and Freed sighed. _Fine, my ass,_ he thought irritably as he quickly closed the distance between them, crouching down at his partner’s side, worry churning beneath the irritation as he realised that the Dragon-slayer looked even worse up close.

“Laxus?” He asked softly, waiting patiently for blue eyes to sluggishly move to meet his, eyes narrowing as he saw the protest brewing as Laxus seemed to acknowledge his presence for the first time. “Why didn’t you tell me you were feeling ill?” The older man had seemed fine earlier, but he knew from experience that didn’t necessarily mean anything as the idiot hated showing any kind of weakness, even when he knew that Freed wouldn’t judge him. He would probably pretend everything was normal even if he was dying, which wasn’t a pleasant thought and he hastily shoved it aside.

“I’m…fine.’

“Really? Looks to me like you’re a minute away from toppling over,” Freed made no effort to hide his disbelief or the sarcastic edge to his voice, and Laxus glanced away sheepishly before letting his shoulders slump in defeat. However, before he could say anything else a ripple of discomfort passed over his face and Freed grabbed his shoulder to brace him as Laxus lurched forward, heaving violently. Freed winced in sympathy, ignoring the weak protest as he moved so that he was pressed against the Dragon-slayer’s side, reaching up to run his fingers through messy blond hair. “Easy,” he soothed, wrinkling his nose slightly at the smell but refusing to budge even when Laxus tried to nudge him away. “Stop that,” he scolded softly, unable to summon any real irritation when Laxus was clearly feeling terrible.

   Apparently, Laxus had realised that resistance was futile at this point because once he was done and had flushed the toilet, he let his weight rest against Freed with a low groan.

“I feel like crap,” he admitted after a moment, his eyes closed as he rested his head against Freed’s shoulder, humming slightly as the Rune mage continued to gently play with his hair.

“Was that really so hard to admit?” Freed teased softly, hiding the fact that he was actually more concerned now that Laxus had actually admitted to how he was feeling, well aware that he must be feeling truly terrible to have caved that readily. It didn’t help that now they were so tightly pressed together he could feel the heat radiating off his mate, and he sighed softly…a Laxus with a fever was never fun to look after, as it had a tendency to stir up bad memories and thoughts, although it didn’t seem to have got to that stage yet.

“Sorry….”

“Don’t apologise,” Freed replied with a sigh, freezing for a moment as Laxus tensed and clapped a trembling hand over his mouth and the Rune mage loosened his grip just enough to let the Dragon-slayer move forward if he needed to. It turned out to be a false alarm much to their relief, Laxus slowly lowering his hand with a sigh of relief and Freed let out a soft huff before adding softly. “Just tell me in future.” He couldn’t even be properly irritated at the idiot for being so stubborn, both because he knew that he was just as bad when it came to being ill, and because Laxus was no peering at him with a guilty expression. There was no point in making him promise either because he knew that as soon as he was ill again all thoughts of actually telling Freed would go flying out of the Dragon-slayer’s mind, so instead he just shook his head slightly and let his head come to rest against Laxus’.

    The Rune mage had just been about to suggest they head back to bed so that he could get Laxus settled and hunt down some of the medicine he was sure they had stashed somewhere, when Laxus paled and lurched forward with a noise that Freed would have called a whine in anything else. The next few minutes passing in a blur as he whispered soothing words, drawing lazy patterns on Laxus’s back as he waited for him to stop and pointedly ignoring all and any attempts by the blond to chase him back to bed. As though he would leave Laxus when he was in this state. He wouldn’t have done it when they were just teammates, let alone now they were mates, and eventually, Laxus admitted defeat, unable to deny that it was comforting just to have Freed at his side.

    In the end, it was another half hour before they decided that it was safe to move, as it had been twenty minutes since Laxus had last thrown up and he’d admitted that he felt a little better. Freed stood first before offering the older man, narrowing his eyes when the stubborn Dragon-slayer began to protest, and with a soft groan, Laxus let him pull him to his feet. Stumbling slightly as he allowed Freed to nudge him towards the sink so that the blond could rinse out his mouth, and run a damp flannel across his face. He lacked the energy to protest when Freed wrapped an arm around him once he was finished, letting the smaller man guide him out of the bathroom and back towards their bedroom. Relieved that he was too big for Freed to lift within the confines of the house although he knew from experience that Freed could carry him when the situation called for it. His expression darkening for a moment as his thoughts drifted to when he had left the Rune mage with the duty of getting them all home after Tempesta, and he hastily pushed the thoughts away, knowing that was the last thing they needed to deal with at the moment.

    It didn’t take Freed long to have him settled back in their bed, fussing unnecessarily with the covers before disappearing again, muttering something about finding medicine. Laxus wanted to protest. Wanting nothing more than to curl up with his mate and hopefully sleep off whatever bug he had managed to come down with, but after catching sight of the overprotective expression on the Rune mage’s face he had realised that there was no point, as nobody could get Freed to shift when he was in that kind of mood. He had fallen into an uneasy doze by the time the younger man reappeared, begrudgingly stirring enough to take the tablets and drink the water that Freed had brought him, but he forgave Freed for the disturbance as the younger man slipped back into bed beside him as soon as he was done.

    They usually slept with Freed curled against the Dragon-slayer, his head resting against Laxus’s chest so that he could listen to his partner’s heartbeat as he fell asleep. Today though their positions were reversed, Freed gently pulling Laxus across until the older man was resting against him, one arm lying across the Dragon-slayer’s waist to hold him in place, while the other began to toy with his hair again.

“Wake me up if you need anything,” he whispered softly, and Laxus pulled a face even though he was already half asleep again, his voice thick as he tried to protest.

“I…”

“Promise me,” Freed insisted, determined not to give ground on this as he had visions of the stubborn Dragon-slayer dragging himself out of bed and making himself worse, just because he didn’t want to disturb the Rune Mage.

“Fine…”  Laxus agreed after a moment, deciding that it just wasn’t worth arguing any more, besides he knew that Freed would just stay awake all night if he didn’t, and he didn’t want that. Freed lent in to press a kiss against his temple in thanks for the promise, and Laxus sighed contentedly as he pressed his head closer to the Rune mage, letting the sound of Freed’s heartbeat and the sensation of gentle fingers running through his hair lull him to sleep.

**

     Freed had hoped that they’d got medicine into the Dragon-slayer in just enough time to stop his fever from rising too much, however, when he was pulled from sleep a couple of hours later by Laxus shifting restlessly beside him, he realised that they weren’t going to be that lucky. Hearing the frantic whispers from his mate and taking in the distressed expression on Laxus’s face, he sighed and carefully sat up in bed, knowing that he wouldn’t be getting any more sleep that night. With gentle hands he pulled the restless Dragon-slayer into his lap, eyes soft as he watched Laxus’s eyes dancing frantically beneath his eyelids, and his heart ached as he heard heart-broken apologies mixed in with the other rambling words, and he began to run his fingers through messy blond hair again in the hopes of soothing the older man.

     It was always the same when fever hit. Laxus’s mind managing to drag old issues up to the surface, memories and fears that for the most part never bothered the Dragon-slayer during his waking moments, but which Freed knew were still there beneath the surface. He would need to make sure that they weren’t disturbed until the fever had settled because while their teammates knew the general gist of everything that had happened to their Thunder God, other details only Freed and Laxus knew, and he would fiercely defend that while the Dragon-slayer couldn’t. However, for now, he needed to try and settle Laxus who had just shifted to bury his face against Freed, and the Rune mage’s expression darkened as he realised that his mate was now apologising to him. Apologising for dragging him into the mess of the Battle of Fairy Tail, for leaving him alone for the long months of his exile, for not being strong enough to protect him from Tempesta.

“Laxus…” He whispered, tears prickling at his eyes as they always did whenever Laxus went down this train of thought. He had never once blamed the Dragon-slayer for any of them, and he knew that Laxus was aware of that, but apparently, his subconscious wasn’t as willing to accept it. “Shh, you don’t need to apologise. I’m safe, and we’re together that’s all that matters,” he murmured the words that he had said so many times before, and they usually would be enough to settle the older man somewhat, but today Laxus shook his head restlessly, and his apologies became more frantic.

    Freed hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and beginning to sing softly. It was a song he had learned long ago from Makarov. Apparently, it was something that the Dragon-slayer’s mother had sung to him when he was little, and it never failed to soothe his partner. Sure enough, he had barely reached the second verse before Laxus’s whisperings became quieter, the Dragon-slayer nuzzling closer to him, and Freed smiled softly as he resumed running his fingers through his partner’s hair. Continuing to sing as slowly Laxus’s voice trailed off altogether, fighting back a yawn as he knew that the moment he faltered, the Dragon-slayer would become restless again and he was determined to prevent that from happening no matter what. It was a silly thing perhaps, but it warmed him to know that he was now the one person able to soothe Laxus when he got like this, and that made it easier to push away his weariness.

****

The next morning:

    Laxus groaned softly as he drifted awake, still feeling groggy and unwell but not as bad as he had the night before much to his relief. Yet he wished that he had managed to shake it off entirely overnight, as he absolutely hated being ill and he knew that Freed wouldn’t let him get up until the Rune mage judged him to be well enough. Speaking of which - he frowned as he slowly coaxed his eyes open, startled to find their bedroom was bathed with enough light to mean that he had slept a good portion of the morning away, a thought confirmed by a quick glance at the clock which said that it was nearly two o’clock in the afternoon. _Freed must have let me sleep,_ he thought unable to recall being roused to take more medicine, although the Rune mage was usually on the ball when it came to that kind of thing.

    He was just contemplating whether to just roll over and go back to sleep, or whether he should seek out his partner when there was a soft noise from behind and above him. Starting slightly, he shifted so that he could tilt his head and his expression softened as he found the answer as to why he had been left to sleep in. Freed was propped up against the headboard although he had slumped sideways at some point, snoring softly because of the awkward position and his hair sticking up in all directions. However, what caught Laxus’s attention was how tired and worried he looked even in sleep, and guilt churned in his stomach as he realised that he was probably the cause of that.

_Freed._

   Slowly he lifted himself up, relieved when his stomach didn’t protest the movement, although he took a moment to catch his breath. Then with gentle hands, he began to ease the younger man down so that he was lying in a more comfortable position, freezing when Freed stirred with a soft mumble, but after shifting so that he was closer to Laxus, the Rune mage settled once more. _Idiot…_ Even asleep and exhausted, he knew that movement had been Freed’s way of trying to make sure that he was there for Laxus, and he wondered what on earth he had done to deserve such dedication. All thoughts of getting up were now wholly abandoned as he lay down next to Freed, curling himself around the Rune mage, unsurprised when he was promptly accosted by slender arms snaking around him as Freed shifted into their usual sleeping position. It warmed him to see some of the worry easing out of the other’s face, and he sighed as he let his head come to rest against Freed’s head, allowing his mate’s scent fill his nose as his eyes drifted shut once more.

_Thank you for being here._

 


End file.
